Woman of the House
by Addster
Summary: Tales of the days of the Mothers: the unsung heros of the Naruto world.
1. We used to be Mundane

**AN: I'm in love with the mother's of the Rookie 9, and I wanted to do a piece dedicated to them. So first up is Yoshino and Shikamaru. This might be a little sketchy with POV and flow, but please bare with me, better chapters will be up. :)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, then Naruto would not be turning in to this uber powerful fluorescent freak.**

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><p>It wasn't much of a surprise to the lazy Nara man; he had seen his wife wiggy and uptight before. And now it was only going to get worse and he was (as lazy as the poor man was) preparing himself for it.<p>

With the birth of their son, Yoshino had become an even harder tightwad.

"Don't lift him from under the arms yet, he's still too fragile, Shukaku!" the woman could be on the other side of the _house _and she'd still be able to sense a disturbance in her newborn's status.

"You're burping him too hard, just pat his back."

"You incompetent man, give me my baby."

And off she'd go with his son, whisking him out of his _dangerous _arms and in to her own loving ones. Tightwad might not be the correct term for her anymore, Shukaku though as he watched Yoshino feed the baby. Maybe something like '_overprotective' _or '_doting' _would work.

"Shikamaru get up! School starts in an hour!"

Like a woman possessed, she'd charge down the hall decked in her white apron and open her child's door, walking in and tearing open the blinds.

"_Mooooom!"_

"Hurry up and get in the kitchen, eat your breakfast and get dressed. Are you still wearing those boxers? When's the last time I washed them? Take them off and put then in the hamper, I won't have my son going to school smelling like a homeless person," on and on she went, picking the seven year-old up and plopping him on the floor, patting his shoulder and motioning for him to take off the offending boxers.

Down they went and now Shikamaru's powdery butt-cheeks were front and center before his mother's eyes.

Yoshino sighs and thinks back to the days of dirty diapers and baby powdered bums. Looking at them now, the mother smiled when not a striking change could be seen in the little cheeks.

"Here, something clean for that cute butt of yours," Yoshino hands over a fresh pair of boxers and her son blushes lightly at the mention of his cheeks.

"Thanks mom."

The two move like a blur back to the kitchen. Shikamaru is plopped in his chair and a plate of hot breakfast is slid before him with a fork ready next to it.

Perfectly executed like clockwork.

"Can I have some salt, mom?" The boy was caked in fatigue, his droopy eyes and flat tone reminded his mother of his dear old dad.

"Here," Yoshino plopped the shaker next to the plate, running a soft hand over the crown of her son's head as she returned to the stove.

"Thank you."

And that's when the woman realized her life was boring, mundane at best.

"Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, mom?" The boy looked up from his eggs, eyes curious at his mother's tone.

"Do you want to stay home today?" Yoshino walked over to where he sat at the table and kneeled down next to his chair, eyes looking in to his.

"Why?"

"Well I rarely get to spend time with you anymore and you already know most of what the teacher talks about so you won't be missing much."

"But you never let me miss school…are you okay? Are you sick or something?"

The mother laughed lightly and patted Shikamaru's hand.

"You're my son, and I want you to learn. But I also want to spend time with you, and that's more important."

For a moment, Shikamaru watched his mother carefully, trying to figure out if she had snapped or she was trapping him.

But the look in her eyes was telling him differently: they were soft and hopeful for him to say yes. And as much as he _loved _school, he'd trade a history lesson for his mom any day.

"Okay, that sounds cool."

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><p><strong>Because everyone just <em>loooooves <em>school. I shouldn't say that, I like being at school more than being at home... O.o**

**Please let me know what you think and any suggestions or tips are always welcome! :)**


	2. Stale

**AN: I really like this one.**

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><p>Politically speaking, she could be called the first lady of the clan, but the title always held this sense of aristocracy she never did appreciate.<p>

She was a woman of subtlety and grace who did what her husband told her and kept house like any well trained dog. Her children were disciplined and mannered, patient and understanding. She fed them, bathed them, clothed them and sent them off to school.

Alone in her home, though it never felt as warm as a home should, she kept quiet. Running errands and buying food killed at least three hours of her day, then left her with the humdrum of silence once she returned. She would start on dinner, knowing her husband would be expecting it when he walked in. He would be late of course, and she would eventually wrap it up and leave it in the oven for him.

Her children would come home, the youngest trotting in happily with a smile on his face and a hug for his dear mother. Her oldest would drag himself in, bone-tired and ragged as he made his way to his room.

She would return to her kitchen, fix her youngest his dish and another for his brother. She would walk down the hall, gently knock on his door and walk in towards his desk. He would be locking up his gear in the chest in his closet, always cognizant of the little one padding in and out.

She would give him a smile and place his food on his desk then leave him. She ached to touch him, to hold him in her arms. But her husband frowned upon the affection, scolding her about how it disrupted his foundation.

And being the obedient wife she was, her hands never left her sides.

But she was allowed the small consolation of being tender towards her youngest. The boy was still small, but as caring and loving as any child a mother could ask for.

Lately though, he had been keeping in his brother's footsteps. Sitting on the couch with a movie playing, she'd have to resort to trickery to get her child to come close to her. Hogging the popcorn bowl in her lap got him nestling in her side, head resting above her breast.

It lasted for a while, until her husband finally made his way home.

Some nights he would be agitated, this night, he was drunk.

"Turn that garbage off and get to bed."

Her small son would look to his father with a questioning gaze. He'd start with a, '_but it's only eight o'clock.'_ It was always met with a deadly glare.

He scurried to his room, leaving his mother to fend for herself.

"I expect discipline in this house."

He'd grumble and shrug her hand off his shoulder, shuffling towards their shared bedroom.

Their lovemaking would be painful for her. He, in his drunken anger, would tear off her housedress and apron and drop her on her back. He fumbled with his belt and didn't bother with his socks.

His breath was hot and tangy as it fell to her face, and his sloppy motions went unmentioned. She lay on her back, faking and allowing him the victory of his conquest.

He would eventually fall asleep beside her; his back to her and snores louder than a chainsaw. She would dress herself and slip back in to bed, assuming the position she favored when she knew she was sharing her bed with a stranger.

And the funny thing was, she woke up the next morning like nothing had happened.

She dressed herself, prepared her children's lunches, woke them, fed them, dressed them and sent them out the door.

She woke her husband, handed him his attire and food and nodded as he grunted something akin to a thanks.

And when she closed the door to her house, listened to the silence of her walls, she turned around and reached for her broom.

As the first-lady of the clan, she had duties to fulfill.

Even if it meant stepping on her heart to do so.

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><p><strong>Hope you all liked it as much as I did. The next chapter may be up in time, I just don't know when I'll get around to it. :)<strong>


	3. Dirty Underwear

**AN: My favorite clan! I had such a blast writing this one, Tsume has to be one of the coolest chicks in all of Naruto. She's just awesome, nuff said!**

**Disclaimer: bro, you know what? I don't own Naruto.**

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><p>They say that when a woman gives birth to her first child, that she feels this sense of overwhelming fear and anxiety. The child she carried for nine months, the child she felt move and kick, but never saw or spoke to, was now in her arms. And she didn't know a single thing about them<p>

They say that when a kunoichi gives birth, the anxiety is even greater because that woman knows the ugliness of the world, how cruel it can be. She fears bringing a child into such a world, and she usually shelters them to the point where the child is just as paranoid as she is.

They never met an Inuzuka woman.

"_Kiba!" _

"_What?"_

"_Why is your dirty underwear on the floor?"_

"_Hana did it!"_

Tsume's heavy footsteps echoed in the hall of her home, thundering on the wood floor as she neared closer and closer to her young son's room.

Barreling in with the wrath of hell nipping at her heels, the Inuzuka matriarch flung open her son's door, walked over to his bed, and scooped up his tiny five year-old frame.

"_Mom Lemme go! Hana did it!"_

"Sure, sure. I don't care. I've decided that whatever I find on the floor I'll just throw away, clean or not."

"B-but," the brown haired boy stuttered, wriggling in his mother's arms until he could meet her narrow black eyes.

"That means you'll either have to keep clean or go naked," Tsume smiled evilly and smacked her lips against her child's forehead, walking in to the kitchen and plopping him on the counter.

"And your sister has been away for two days, so how do you explain that?"

Her boy looked mortified at the presentation of his blunder, cheeks flaring and eyes widening.

"It was Kuromaru," Kiba shied back until his head was touching the cabinet on the wall, the farther away from his mother the better.

Tsume smiled as she dug through a drawer and pulled out a big knife. She twirled the cutlery in her experienced hand, eyes moving to the pantry above her head. Suddenly and calmly, the jounin threw the knife at her son.

Kiba gave a quick yelp of terror, calming slightly when he saw the knife wobble in the wooden cutting board next to his thigh.

"Do you honestly think I would throw a knife at you?"

Kiba didn't answer.

"Alright fine, doubt my maternal instincts why don't cha'."

"What are maternal instincts?" Tsume halted her hunt for vegetables as she pulled her head out of the fridge and looked at her son.

"Well, they're like…uhh, geeze," she dove back in for her tomatoes.

"My super powers."

"_You_ have super powers?" He sounded quite skeptical.

"Oh yes I do," Tsume cackled and came out of the fridge with two tomatoes in hand, plopping them on the cutting board and patting her son's thighs.

"They're special mom powers that let us know what's going on with our kids without ever having to ask. They let me know exactly how your underwear ended up in the living room," Kiba blushed and played with one of his mother's fingers, little cheeks bloating as he used both hands to hold Tsume's.

"Do all girls have them? Does Hana have them? Because then I wouldn't be able to bug her."

"Oh no, no. Only mothers. I didn't always have mine, I had to have you and your sister before I could be this awesome."

Tsume moved away from Kiba to check the pantry for dry spices and noodles.

"Hana will get them when she has a baby. That hopefully won't be for a long time so I think you'll be safe for a while," she winked and came back to the counter with onions and garlic in one hand and long thin noodles in the other.

"Do you have to buy them?" The tiny boy asked, eyes sparkling in curiosity as he reclaimed his mother's hand.

"They're free. But they come with one catch…" Kiba leaned in closer to his mother, embodying the look of wonder as Tsume leaned in closer as well.

"You have to keep the snotty little boogers that come with them."

Her fingers found his tickle spots and Kiba started howling with laughter, aimlessly kicking his feet and lolling his head back as Tsume lifted him off the counter and flipped him upside down in her arms, letting him dangle close to the floor.

"_Mom!"_

He squealed helplessly as he was lowered to the kitchen floor and attacked on all sides.

Hearing the unsettling noises from his soft patch of grass outside, Kuromaru came in the house, slowly making his way over to the excitement.

"Tsume…" the old dog yawned and rolled on to the floor next to his pile of humans, pawing Kiba's face and licking his arm.

"_No fair, no fair!"_

"_All's fair in love and war, my friend!"_

The dog seemed to be enjoying the torture of his master's pup because he moved his snout to the exposed skin of the five year-olds stomach and ran his cold nose over the already goose-bumped skin.

Kiba shivered and giggled, losing his breath as both of his executioners pressed on.

"Alright Kuromaru, let up. I think he's gonna barf," the mother of two laughed as she let her son catch his breath, rubbing his chest with a satisfied smile on her face and pulled his shirt down.

"So, my lazy little puppy. What do you want for breakfast?"

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><p><strong>Of course she would throw away anything on her floor... ;P<strong>


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